Hey all! It’s time for our first Whatcha Reading of July 2022! We want to know how you’re kicking off the month of reading.
Tara Okay, okay. So, I can’t believe it either, but I’m reading something again! One of my kids got Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women’s Fight for Their Rights by Mikki Kendall and A. D’Amico ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) from the library, so I started it today and I’m loving it. It found me at the right time and I’m already learning a ton.
Shana: Sweet! I’m halfway through Wherever is Your Heart by Anita Kelly. ( A | BN | K | AB ) It’s an adorable f/f road trip romance about a truck driver and a bartender in their 50s. Fluffy and sweet but also quiet…almost too quiet for my current mood. Which is why I’m starting The Lady’s Champion by Marie Lipscomb. It’s a medieval fantasy romance with a fat hero AND heroine.
EllenM: I’m reading Destiny’s Embrace by Beverly Jenkins ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Scribd ) and it is just such a wonderful balm to my soul right now. I’m in the middle of like 10 books but I am charging through this one.
Amanda: I’ve been in a weird reading mood (as in nonexistent), but when I saw an email for an arc of Station Eternity ( A | BN | K | AB ) pop into my mailbox, I was compelled to nab it!
Elyse: I’m also in a slump. It’s hard to get my imagination to work when I feel mentally exhausted from all the awfulness.
Sneezy: I’m in a sporadic reading slump, but I did start the audiobook for Women with Attention Deficit Disorder by Sari Solden ( A | BN | K | AB ) that Susan talked about last time. I’m not very far in, just the introductions made me happy. The authors of You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid, or Crazy talk about how they still had ADHD, but have learned resiliency, self-compassion, and a sense of humour about the things they deal with gives me so much hope. Everything feels like shit right now, but hearing that made me feel like there are still things to look forward to and better days are ahead.
Thanks ,Susan!
Sarah: I have one and a half working brain cells at the moment, so I have been reading magazines from the library. I wrote a whole post about it.
I have done a deep dive into cooking magazines like Cook’s Country, then into crafting magazines from overseas. Next I might start reading travel. Or yacht travel and sailboat magazines.
So, whatcha reading? Let us know below!
I have basically been binge reading the Maisie Dobbs books – they are series of historical mysteries featuring a WWI nurse from her childhood to (as of current book) 1941. Content note – they have a lot of upsetting things happening and I’m sometimes dubious about how some things are handled but they are also very cozy found family and it also features living with trauma and All The Things Happening Are Awful in a way that I found comforting as a biracial queer jewish woman in These Times.
Cat Sebastian – The Missing Page
Always enjoy a Cat Sebastian book. I liked how this one riffed on house-party mysteries and the unique solution to the mystery. The relationship is working out to very cozy and soft; I’m don’t have super strong feelings about either of the characters, but I like the vibes a lot.
Rhea Ewing- Fine: A Comic About Gender
My second book for queer summer book club. This is a graphic novel by a trans nonbinary artist who went on a multi-year journey of interviewing people in the Midwest US about their personal experiences with gender: identity, expression, bodies, politics, all the complicated stuff wrapped up with that. It also chronicles their journey to clarifying their own gender identity and coming to terms with it. This is a quick read despite being 300+ pages. There is a pretty wide variety of gender expression and experience displayed here. It gave me some angles to look at gender that I hadn’t considered before, and I think its possibly a good intro book for people just starting to consider gender as a spectrum instead of a strict binary. (tl;dr: gender! It’s complicated!)
Marzi: A Memoir written by Marzenha Sowa and drawn by Sylvain Savoia
It’s a collection of little vignettes from the writer’s Polish childhood, and it’s the kind of story that might be about childhood but is very much for grownups. That’s not to say that it’s inappropriate for kids, exactly, but this is a story of an actual childhood, and not of your typical fictional children in comics. Think less “Peanuts” and more the movie “Belfast”. (That’s not a perfect comparison, but it helps.)
It’s absolutely excellent.
Hun er vred by Maja Lee Langvad
It’s a novel about transnational adoption and the adoption industry, that’s got quite the interesting gimmick: Every single paragraph begins with the words “Hun er vred”, meaning “She is angry”.
So far, this month, I’ve read one chunky fantasy novel The Pariah, by Anthony Ryan.
I enjoyed it and didn’t notice any egregious descriptions of female characters, even ones the MC was attracted to. Plot is fairly standard hero goes from rags to important, though he does end up working for a strong female commander, which is a nice change. (CW for violence, torture, and references to SA.)
I also read The Vision: The Complete Collection, by Tom King. It’s really good, though dark. Not sure how accessible it would be to readers unfamiliar with the comic book character.
I also read She Who Became the Sun, by Shelley Parker-Chan at the end of last month and would really like to know when the sequel is coming out.
The world — everywhere from inside my head to the outer atmosphere — is out of control, so I’ve been rereading. My usual failsafes are failing, so I’m rereading. I’m just rereading.
Annabeth Albert’s Perfect Harmony series comprising TREBLE MAKER, LOVE ME TENOR, and ALL NOTE LONG is one of *my* all time favorite contemporaries (M/M). They all involve competence p0rn (two of the three are based on small group music competitions), learning to live a true life despite growing up in a religious milieu (aka a religious straightjacket), and accepting the risks involved in loving and trusting oneself and others. Ironically, the first two books contain two of my least favorite tropes, reality shows and YA, and yet they give me hope. Albert included a playlist with each of the books that provides incredible insights into the characters and actions in the books.
In an entirely different genre, I (re)read Sarah MacLean’s Bareknuckle Bastards series (WICKED AND THE WALLFLOWER, BRAZEN AND THE BEAST, and DARING AND THE DUKE). Clearly I’m all about fighting one’s demons and glorying in those trying to make the world a better place for those who aren’t privileged.
The world is still out of control, but rereading these series this week has kept me from going to pieces.
@Lostshadows — One of my friends loves Anthony Ryan’s books, especially his Vaelin books. I keep meaning to check them out.
I’m hoping to check out THE LAYOVER by Lacie Waldon and CHILLING EFFECT by Valerie Valdes, which sounds like a really fun sci-fi books.
I’m also looking forward to ECLIPSE THE MOON by Jessie Mihalik, which comes out next week.
I also finished the final season of OZARK and am really disappointed with what happened to one character. The whole season felt like a retread of previous seasons and that the characters were just spinning their wheels waiting for the end. Sigh.
Alison Rhymes’s BROKEN PLAY is a well-written, angsty, and nuanced story of a marriage in trouble; it does, however, deal with the difficult subject of infidelity. I know cheating is a hard no for many readers, so the book will not be to all tastes. If you choose to read it, you will discover an excellent story of a married couple torn apart by the husband’s infidelity and its aftermath. Broadcast journalist June and professional football player Drew have been married for five years when June discovers that Drew—a fixture of her life since childhood and her brother’s best friend—has been having a long-term affair with another woman. This happens in the first chapter and Rhymes does a great job with describing the cascade of emotions June feels: betrayal, insignificance, misery, depression, incandescent rage, and the endless list of why’s and how’s that such a massive betrayal brings. “Anger is like a warm, fuzzy blanket,” June asserts, “protecting you from the freezing cold of depression and self-loathing.” As the old column in Good Housekeeping used to ask, Can this marriage be saved? And I liked that June really takes her time to decide the answer to that question: is it even worth the hard work that will be required to regain her trust in Drew and rebuild their relationship? I also liked that while Rhymes did not in any way excuse Drew’s affair, she did make Drew’s actions understandable. It’s extremely difficult to make a cheater into a sympathetic character, but seeing Drew begin to comprehend his selfishness and the way he has neglected June in the guise of “protecting” her, made him a fully-realized person and not a villainous caricature. Between their therapy sessions, Drew’s football games, and June’s new job in New Orleans (a city nicely evoked by Rhymes), some hard truths about the couple’s relationship emerge–particularly how the college attack on June by a stalker (TW/CW) had long-term repercussions for both June and Drew. As Drew recognizes, “…some coping mechanisms are…hard to break and I didn’t try hard enough.” BROKEN PLAY is so well done, it’s hard to believe this is Rhymes’s debut novel, and I will certainly be looking for more books from her. BROKEN PLAY is on my list of favorite books of 2022. Highly recommended, if you are ok with the subject matter.
Although I’m not a fan of the reality tv trope or reality tv in general, I enjoyed Julianna Keyes’s BIG WILD LOVE ADVENTURE about a woman who becomes a contestant on a Survivor/Love Island type show. Emmy is a baker with a desserts-only food truck, but a series of unfortunate events (starting with being dumped by her fiancé and ending with her truck and livelihood being destroyed in an accident) has left her unemployed and in debt. One drunken submission to a reality show later, Emmy arrives in Panama to be part of Big Wild Love Adventure. There she meets her fellow contestants (all of whom are fleshed-out to varying degrees) including a number of men, the most promising love prospect being Wes, a self-contained property developer. I think the fact that I know very little about reality tv shows contributed to my enjoyment of the book because I wasn’t saying to myself, “That’s not how they would actually do that” as events such as challenges, choosing partners, or contestant eliminations took place. BIG WILD LOVE ADVENTURE straddles the line between romance and women’s fiction: while it does feature a romance, the ending is far more HFN than HEA; the story is told only from Emmy’s POV and focuses entirely on her personal growth—and her feelings for Wes–as the days and weeks on location pass by. Plus, as is often the case with WF, the book’s single overt sex scene, while not closed-door, is firmly in the fade-to-black category. Key quote: “It’s hard not to fall for someone when you’re in paradise, but there is a reason so few reality couples survive in the real world.” I’ve loved many of Keyes’s books in the past (her TIME SERVED is one of my keeper-shelf favorites), and when she started publishing mysteries, I was afraid she’d turned her back on romance for good, so even though I can’t classify BIG WILD LOVE ADVENTURE completely as a romance, I’m glad Keyes hasn’t abandoned the genre entirely. Recommended.
Ana Huang’s TWISTED LIES is the fourth book in her Twisted series about four former college roommates and their lives & loves after graduation. Although I don’t usually care for N/A, the Twisted books are enjoyable in part because the heroines are a little more thoughtful and mature than is generally found in the genre. TWISTED LIES leans toward dark romantic-suspense in its two major subplots: the obsessive stalker who has been following the heroine off-and-on for several years and the corporate skullduggery involving the billionaire hero’s security firm, but the romance primarily develops through a fake relationship the h&h enter into for…reasons. As is sometimes the case with fake relationships, one MC has a big secret they are keeping from the other and their ostensible reasons for entering the fake relationship are not as valid as the secret ones. (CW/TW: the hero functions in a morally-gray area and his actions toward his enemies and anyone who has hurt the heroine are bloody and violent.) Key quote: “Romanticizing love was easy. Falling in love was harder.” Recommended—but to get the full flavor of the book, read the first three books in the series first.
Sara Cate’s EYES ON ME was recommended by the Fated Mates podcast as a book that was “really hot,” and while I agree there’s a lot of sex in this book about the relationship between a cam girl and her significantly older voyeuristic step-brother (the hero was already an adult and living elsewhere when his mother married the heroine’s father), I didn’t feel that the book hit all its marks. There’s a lot going on in EYES ON ME: in addition to the heroine being a cam girl, the hero is one of the owners of an upscale sex club; the hero has a history of depression (CW/TW) and hasn’t had sex for over a decade; and the MCs have an antagonistic relationship which morphs into something else as they spend time at their parents’ lakeside vacation home. The heroine also grows close to one of her clients on the cam app—their relationship seems to have a warmer connection than the one she has with her step-brother. Yes, there’s endless parade of various sex acts, but so much of it is window dressing for what is at heart the story of a woman torn between two men (elements of that part of the story are cleverly done) and a man coming to grips with how mental illness has affected his life. Sex scenes aside, Cate needs a better copy-editor especially for time-lines (a character goes for a run in the morning and returns in the afternoon), distances (a two-hour drive is later reduced to 20 minutes), and general logistics (a person who, based on the story, must be driving, reads and responds to texts). If you’re looking for a quick, sexy read between other books, EYES ON ME is not a bad choice. Yes, it’s a bit of a mess but not a complete waste of time.
[CW/TW: ALL the triggers!!] Although technically marketed as a romance, Nyla K’s BRAINWASHED is really a body horror story featuring the relationship between a serial killer and the psychiatrist trying to treat/understand him. It’s the third book in Nyla’s Alabaster Penitentiary series and the MCs appeared on the periphery of the previous two books (DISTORTED and JOYLESS). I can’t stress how dark, violent, and triggery the book is—definitely go into it assuming you’re reading a twisty horror novel, not a romance. However, if watching a relationship grow between a self-aware but utterly psychopathic serial killer and a closed-off doctor as they play a game of psychological cat-and-mouse in an isolated, crumbling prison intrigues you, BRAINWASHED is an interesting book, but please take the trigger warnings seriously.
Just got back from a delightful road trip which included Burlington, VT, Quebec City, and Montreal. Heartily recommend them all as destinations! (Some of my favorite stops included the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, an amazing collection of paintings, buildings, an antique carousel, this incredible set of circus figurines, a train, and a Lake Champlain steamboat in dry dock. Collected by a woman named Electra Havermeyer Webb, it’s an incredible slice of history and housed on beautiful grounds. The Museum of Civilization in QC had one of the most interesting and provocative exhibits I’ve seen in quite some time called “O Merde” (yes, translated into English as “Oh Shit”) about poop and how it’s thought about socially and practically. It was fascinating. Also really enjoyed the light show at the Basilica of Notre Dame in Montréal—it’s a cool way to experience the architecture.)
Since it was a road trip, there was a bit less reading than usual, but still read several I quite enjoyed:
THE FEATHER THIEF by Kirk Johnson. Not sure how this ended up on my list (maybe one of Amanda’s Get Rec’d posts?), but I really enjoyed it. It’s non-fiction and tells the story of a young man who gets into tying salmon flies and then breaks into a natural history museum in England to steal hundreds of the birds whose feathers are used in tying Victorian ties. Our narrator investigates what really happened and along the way there are fascinating byways into the history of natural history, evolution, and women’s fashion. (Both the mania for collecting specimens and the penchant for feathers on women’s clothing and hats decimated and permanently damaged bird populations.) As someone who reads a lot of historicals, this added a fascinating layer to how what were seen as hobbies or fashion have profound ecological consequences. Definitely recommend.
I devoured Cat Sebastian’s latest, THE PERFECT CRIMES OF MARIAN HAYES*, and while there is much to love here, including Sebastian’s great ear for dialogue and letters, the richly rendered queer characters (both the hero and heroine are bi), and found family, I got stuck on the ending. Without saying too much, I felt like there were some obligations that the characters didn’t live up to. Still, the book is a delight and I desperately hope that Betty (Kit and Rob’s fence) gets her own book.
Also read the latest Sebastian St. Cyr mystery. Always fun to catch up with Sebastian and Hero, but because CS Harris doesn’t shy away from any of the nastiness of the Regency period, I found myself ruminating on how being executioner of Paris was a hereditary job and what kind of hell it must be to learn that “trade” as a child, especially during the French Revolution. Oof.
*Many thanks to romance readers for being some of the speediest and most voracious readers out there. Makes my library holds come in much faster than the library usually predicts!
THE HOOKUP PLAN by Farrah Rochon who should become even more well-regarded with this book. It’s frenemies to lovers and the chemistry is . The writing, so far, is fantastic.
ROSALINE PALMER TAKES THE CAKE by Alexis Hall which has gotten a little slow in the middle.
THE MURDER OF MR WICKHAM by Claudia Graycontinues to delight me with every chapter.
Okay, it should say…the chemistry is :fire emoji:. Sorry for the double reply.
It’s hockey romances. I’m finishing the All series in series by Helena Hunting. Loved books 1,3. and 4. I have one more in the Carolina Cold Fury series and then I’m going something from my KU list which was recommended on the YouTube channels devoted to romance recs in specific troupes.
@Lostshadows The Pariah keeps coming up on my book recs. July is booked, but I’m interested enough to add it to my August list.
July’s reading goal was to finish the 15 books I had marked as currently reading on Goodreads. Happy to report that I have finished 4 of them.
Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn — Star Wars, introduction of Thrawn, introduction of Mara Jade, introduction of the long spanning enemies to lovers arc for Luke and Mara. 11 year old me loved this book. 41 year old me loved this book.
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas — rereading the TOG series and this one is book 2. I still love you Chaol even though you effed up.
Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes — another reread. I think this series is supposed to be GoT lite. None of the characters in book 1 have any redeeming value.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood — utter perfection. Reylo to a T. Gave us the Stormpilot ship that Disney would not.
Also listened to the audio for Caraval and Legendary to prep for reading Once Upon A Broken Heart for my book club on Wednesday. I love Stephanie Garber’s world-building and characters. Her books just make me so happy.
The Daisy Majesty cosy mystery series by Alice Duncan. I think I’m on number 12. Set in Pasadena in the 1920s.
The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison, continuing the story of Thara Celehar. It was good.
I don’t often participate in posting but l read everyone else’s updates of what they are reading with great enjoyment every time. I was at the parade where there was the mass shooting this week with my family, and while we are all physically ok, I’m posting now mostly to distract myself. I read All of us Villains, which had some nice world building but was somehow sadder than l expected, even considering the dark premise. I also wasn’t expecting the story to wrap up but it didn’t so much as end in a cliffhanger as just, end abruptly mid action. I also am currently reading Tessa Bailey’s My Killer Vacation. I’m only just started but it’s an engaging read so far. Her writing usually works really well for me so l was surprised l did not love one of my other reads this week, which was This Time Tomorrow, the second in her Fate series. I had a hard time buying into the chemistry between the leads and often got frustrated with Roksana’s choices. The last thing l read this week was The Diabolical Baron by Mary Jo Putney. It’s been somewhat recently reissued but was her first or near first book. It’s definitely classic regency, but it reads as very much an ensemble piece rather than a book focusing on two main leads. At another time l may have been a more critical reader but right now l found it charming and the switches in focus helped keep my attention. Keep safe all and hug your loved ones.
I read a few from that big freebie drop from a couple weeks ago, not much worth mentioning. I then took advantage of the 3 free months of KU from getting a Kindle to finish out the Ward Sisters series from Karla Sorensen – Forbidden and Floored. I enjoy the family as much as the romantic relationships, so I’m tempted to read the book about Logan and Paige.
Currently reading NF, How to do nothing by Jenny Odell. Interesting because it already feels quite a bit removed from the current moment since it was published in 2019 and So Much has happened since then. So many white collar workers did the WFH thing that blurred home and work and online spaces and this of course doesn’t really speak to that.
In the last WAYR, all my books were bad choices. So the universe decided to reward me this week with The Murderbot Diaries. I’m midway through NETWORK EFFECT (5th book, first full-length novel, A+++++++). I’m reading the text, but I’ve also checked the audiobook out on Hoopla and am “rereading” the portions I’ve already read while doing chores, walking, etc. Every time Murderbot re-consumes media, I feel seen. And maybe in need of therapy.
LOVE TO HATE YOU by Alisha Rai – (A) – Another book where I’m the last to the party, this second-chance romance between lovers from two families who fell out years ago over a tragic accident was incredibly satisfying on a number of levels (emotional depth, diversity), but it didn’t bring me the kind of joy that inspires re-reading. I think it’s because the hero never had to sacrifice in the present to make up for his choices in the past.
I also read BROKEN PLAY (C) by Alison Rhymes but don’t share the love. Although I see that Rhymes made the effort to try to construct a cheating story where the cheater could be plausibly redeemed, I thought the narrative style was more analytical than emotional and there were some gaping holes that make it impossible for me to praise the attempt:
2. The OW is a hot mess, and we’re not given any explanation for her actions or motivations in this book, presumably because the author is saving all those revelations for a sequel featuring her as the heroine. I don’t see myself showing up for that book, so I feel very shortchanged here.
I’m about halfway through “Work Won’t Love You Back” by Sarah Jaffe, which is great. I love that it opens with chapters on both paid and unpaid domestic work.
“In the Shadow of Love” by J.E. Leak is the second in this WWII spy romance series, not that the heroines do a lot of spying. As I mentioned last time, these books are extremely slow-paced; feels like the author tried to stretch the plot of one novel across a planned series of four (and these are 400+ page books!). I’m still intrigued enough by Jenny and Katherine’s relationship to want to find out what happens, even though I sort of resent that… so I will probably be picking up the third book when it comes out.
“Crying in H-Mart” by Michelle Zauner is a beautifully written memoir about the author’s relationship with her mother, acting as a caretaker as she was dying from cancer, and attempting to hold on to their relationship and Korean heritage through food after her death. Very moving and a bracingly honest depiction of a troubled relationship with a parent that doesn’t get neatly resolved.
Also revisited a favorite author from high school and reread “Breakfast of Champions” by Kurt Vonnegut, which definitely holds up!
Since last time, week by week ~
— Qualify (The Atlantis Grail Book 1) by Vera Nazarian. Note: this is FREE for US Kindle readers. It seems to be categorized as young adult but be aware that it has quite some deaths and some similarities to the Hunger Games series. I enjoyed it and might read on as I’m curious where the story will go.
— I’m participating in the adult summer reading program that my library is hosting. One of the challenges is to read a book from 2011. I happily reread Stray (Touchstone Book 1) by Andrea K. Höst which is FREE for Kindle readers. This science fiction story features a young woman who on her last day of high school, finishes her exams and then walks into a different world.
— finished my reread of the Touchstone series with Lab Rat One, Caszandra, Gratuitous Epilogue, In Arcadia, and Snow Day all by Andrea K Höst which I enjoyed once more.
— For my distant book group, The Necessary Beggar by Susan Palwick. This book is categorized as science fiction; however, I’d be more inclined to consider it as fantasy or magical realism. In a very different world, a young man is banished for having murdered a mendicant (a beggar). His family elects to stay with him, and they walk through a portal into … Nevada (specifically a refugee camp). The book was published in 2005 but is set in the then future. Funnily enough, a good part of the book takes place in 2022. The story was intriguing, and I look forward to the discussion.
I am also in a state of semi-despair about current events (and fears for future ones), but reading always helps.
Just finished “Paradise” by Judith McNaught and enjoyed it. Even the dubious characters got happily-ever-afters! It was pretty good, but nothing compares to her “Almost Heaven”.
I am just starting “Horse” and it is really good. It’s about horses, racism, art, racing, characters throughout history.
In the end, I went on with Annabeth Albert’s Rainbow Cove series, and read TENDER WITH A TWIST and HOPE ON THE ROCKS too. They’re both good, like I said about the first in the series, not quite as fluffy as some of her others, but still not big on angst. Yes, each has a conflict near the end (that you can just see coming), but it’s more matters coming to a head, they think, cool down, talk it out and we’re good. I should also say that the sex/relationships in both books turn kinky. I am not much into that, even less Daddy kink which Hope has, but your YMMV. Here it wasn’t too heavy, so I was good with it. What I really didn’t like was the bit with Logan’s parents in Tender, they are way over the line at some point with their protectiveness and made me want to throw my Kindle at the wall… It had been mentioned before that they didn’t like Logan moving to Rainbow Cove and wanted him to go back to Portland get back with his seemingly perfect ex – but what happened when they turned up the second time was way overdrawn and also felt like too much, besides being over the line per se. It felt like she wrote it that way to make the conflict bigger.
Otherwise I’m waiting for some preorders to come through, meanwhile going back a bit to rereading the PLUMBER’S MATE series by JL Merrow as good-night reading. They’re m/m romance + mystery featuring said plumber (Tom) and Phil who’s a PI. Each book has a central mystery, it starts with them reconnecting over a case 12 years after having been at school together and goes through to their honeymoon in the last book. It’s all written from Tom’s POV, and he’s pretty funny, there’s also lots of funny banter (and British slang), the mysteries are good (oh, and they’re not closed door, though it’s not a lot of sex – like 1 or 2 scenes per book). Phil is a bit of a closed book and they have a lot of things to work out. Also a warning for CW – mobbing. Phil grew up with a homophobic dad and he and his mates used to mob Tom in school (despite that, Tom fancied him – on a physical level) – with the result of Tom running in front of a moving car one day because he didn’t want to run into Phil and his clique – which resulted in a bad accident for him. Turns out though that Phil had secretly fancied Tom (and through that realised he’s gay) which was why he was angry. That’s clearly not an apology for his behaviour though, and their first few encounters are not friendly. Phil also carried a lot of guilt over the accident as Tom soon finds out. Complicated grounds for a relationship and they have a lot to work through – but get there in the end.
My current non-romance read is THE FOUR – The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google by Scott Galloway. Not quite new (it’s from 2018 I think), but entertaining and insightful. A good look into how these companies grew to what they are, how they’re so successful and how they really work.
I’m apparently on a YA kick at the moment, somewhat unintentionally. I just finished THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY trilogy by Jenny Han. Oh the angst! Oh the drama! Does the story line make sense? Not really, to be honest. But was it compelling? Why yes. Yes it was. I read it straight through and enjoyed every minute.
For those who may have watched the Amazon series, which covers book 1 of the trilogy, the specific events in the books are quite different. There’s no debutante ball drive the story forward. But the underlying love triangle and family dynamics are all there.
I can’t remember if I saw Scarlett Gale’s His Secret Illuminations and His Sacred Incantations here or elsewhere, or just stumbled across them at an online bookstore. But they’re great fun and potentially catnip if “role-reversal fantasy romance” is one of your things.
The protagonist Lucían is a young monk who’s been raised since early childhood in a monastery, and falls in instant – well, everything – with the She-Wolf, a woman warrior who is doing a book recovery mission for the monastery. Lucían accompanies her to provide book-tracking magic. And pine. So much pining. If he breaks his vows of celibacy, he could lose the magic that’s needed for the mission. Did I mention the pining?
It’s not a particularly deep or original fantasy world, but there’s a lot of found family to enjoy as Lucían expands his horizons.
My favorite recent read was Douglas W. Tallamy’s The Nature of Oaks, which I don’t think I mentioned previously. It’s a quick and fascinating read about the ecosystem around oak trees, which support more diverse life than many other tree species. I heard a talk by the author and had to learn more.
@dreamingintrees- so glad you and your family are all physically ok. I was visiting my family nearby, and some of them were leaving the Botanic Gardens as outside responders were showing up. A very scary and tragic event in an area no one would expect. Hope you and yours stay mentally and emotionally healthy. Take care of yourselves.
@dreamingintrees, I echo what @Katy L just said. Sending healing thoughts to you and others who have been touched by violence.
@Dreamingintrees – stay well, this is just horrible to have happened!
The Diabolical Baron is an old favourite of mine. A good comfort re-read! I guess you know, Reggie’s book is The Rake, and that one is also really good, though more angsty. Richard Dalton also turns up in The Bargain.
Recent discussion about Jodi Taylor’s books reminded me that I had the audio book of LITTLE DONKEY, a novella and book 1.5 in her Frogmorton Farm series. Joy to the world, this was the perfect listen; sweet, charming, so funny, and the accents/different voices were a delight. Now I have to listen to the first and all the others.
LOVE, LIES & HOCUS POCUS by Lydia Sherrer, the first in her Lily Singer Adventures, was OK+. The story was interesting, more telling than showing, and Lily–for reasons unknown to me the reader–was a complete stickler for rules; her preferred pencil skirts may have been a metaphor for the stick she had stuck somewhere. I may try the next book, but if Lily isn’t any more pleasant to other characters, this might be the end.
Kimberly Lemming’s THAT TIME I GOT DRUNK AND SAVED A DEMON was so much fun. The writing felt a little unpolished, but the journey was well worth it. Demons have been enslaved for hundreds of years, all to cement the power of a ruthless goddess and keep her people afraid. Our hero Cinnamon (there’s a reason) and demon Fallon are on a quest to save the world from this evil and it is quite entertaining. THAT TIME I GOT DRUNK AND YEETED A LOVE POTION AT A WEREWOLF is next and I can’t wait.
@Dreamingintrees – hugs to you and your family and community <3
I don't usually post my reading here either, but I do read through others' posts for recs and pithy commentary, and I'm never disappointed!!! My life is such that I really have to work to find time to read for fun, so my output is low and slow. I did finish Claudia Gray's The Murder of Mr. Wickham and really liked it! It was an adventure with characters that I haven't visited in, for some of them, 20+ years and I thought the author did a really good job of capturing the essence of each. I've now started As If On Cue by Marissa Kanter, a YA about rival performing arts kids forced to collaborate on the school play together. It's early, but I like it so far. Also started Neil Degrasse Tyson's Astrophysics For People in a Hurry on audio. I really enjoy his voice, both writing style and his physical speaking voice and delivery.
I’ve been gobbling up Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett through hoopla. My library has most of them in ebook form and some on audio. They are more or less standalone with loosely connected sub-series that follow different characters. I have read and re-read the Witches books before, now finally got into the City Watch arc, which contains excellent murder mystery plots, puns, riffs on action hero movies and unexpectedly poignant moments. Content warnings for violence, biting social commentary on race, gender, poverty, all the things. “Guards! Guards!” is the first and most lighthearted. “Night Watch” is dark and deeply emotional if you have followed the characters for 5-6 books. I had to stop after this one.
Looking for a palate cleanser, picked up Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones, a sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle with some Aladdin vibes. The library only had it on audio and I have a hard time staying focused so it’s slow going. Narrator is excellent, great for bedtime.
@dreamingtrees – I’m so sorry that you (or anyone!!)
had to experience something so scary!
CATCH and RELEASE by Isabel Murray is the first book I’ve read in which the alien/shifter/demon/etc love interest remains completely alien. There is no magic chip translator to let the heroes communicate, and they remain mysterious to each other throughout. It’s also set in an English fishing village, and the hero, an isolated transplant, becomes a part of the town and develops real friendships there partly because of his new relationship.
L
I read an old Signet Regency that was quite good-The Prodigal Daughter by Allison Lane. One of the best things for me about a Scribd subscription is being able to dip into books from decades ago, there are a ton of them there.
And I am reading the 3rd book in A.M. Stuart’s historical mystery series set in Singapore, Evil in Emerald. It’s too gritty to be called a cozy, with multiple deaths and a kidnapping/forced prostitution ring. The author doesn’t shy away from the ugly side of that era(early 1900’s), sort of along the lines of C.S. Harris. I’m really enjoying the plot developments, both main characters have complex back stories. I hope she continues the series.
I have two bingos in the Ripped Bodice’s Summer Bingo!
Whiteout by Elyse Springer, m/m contemp
4 stars
I read this for the amnesia square and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The plot was excellent. The romance wasn’t quite as convincing but I was willing to suspend some disbelief.
The Loophole by Naz Kutub, queer YA 3.5 or 4 stars
Angsty-er than I expected but good.
Letters to Half Moon Street by Sarah Wallace, mm historical
3.5 stars
You guys! *Queer Sorcery and Cecelia!* I didn’t love it but I’m certain some of the bitchery will.
So. Queer epistolary Regency romance (with magic!). I enjoyed the world and I’ll read the next book when it comes out. It’s set in an alt version of Regency England – there’s magic and LGBTQ+ people are accepted. Firstborn noble children of any gender inherit any title and later born children are expected to marry well or take up a profession.
I thought the romance was the least convincing part of the story. I’m not a fan of the country innocent unknowingly wins the heart of the rich sophisticate trope anyways and the h/h lacked chemistry. Note that the class system is still firmly in place, all the characters are white and there’s no real questioning of the status quo. So it’s no Zen Cho or Cat Sebastian, but still entertaining.
Don’t Cry for Me by Rachel Lacey (animal shelter) – ff contemp
3 stars
Mediocre ff romance between a driven business consultant who rescues a bag of kittens from a dumpster and the cute kitten rescuer / bar owner who just happens to have a small business that needs rescuing. I liked the characters and the set up but the pacing dragged and there was way too much plot.
And I’m still recovering from the romance I read for the mafia square (this sub-genre really is not for me, shudder)
Right now I’m pushing through “The Ex Hex” which is a fun read just not maybe what I need right now so it is taking me a bit more time than normal to complete. There’s also “Much Ado About You” just behind that on my Cloud Library borrows, so I’ll get to that next after quite enjoying the first two chapters. I also have “A Lady for the Duke” waiting on top of my TBR pile now that my daughter’s finished reading it.
I zipped through the last Westcott book by Mary Balogh – nice, not truly memorable, however. I guess I’m just looking for the next big thing to really energize me as a reader. I crave something that’s a bit sweet and funny, but avoids the perils of extreme zaniness, embarrassment squicks, and characters that are TSTL. I’ll know it when I see it.
I have only read mediocre to terrible romances recently, because I have fallen into a rabbit hole of Barbara Cartland. I mostly genuinely hate them, but there’s something so enjoyable about hating them that I am starting to worry that it’s all some sort of meta trope and really we are meant to be.
I’m not actually worried about that, because if there is one true body of work for me it would be KJ Charles. I am returning to my eternal rereading project now I’ve finished dusting my MiL’s amazing collection – it would be a lengthy process to clean her bookcases even if I didn’t find it so distracting!
I’ve been dipping into (sorry) some KJ Charles – most recently A Gentleman’s Position. It’s part of her M/M historic Society of Gentlemen series which I seem to be reading all out of order. Loved this – lots of pining, explosive chemistry between the leads and some very hot sex. The characters that populate the whole series are from across the social spectrum which offers some interesting power dynamics and there’s plenty of plot to get involved with. I can also recommend A Seditious Affair, from the same series, which I read earlier in the year.
The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting (also KJC) is a standalone and equally enjoyable. A brother and sister come to town, posing as gentry, to ‘seek’ their fortune. The main storyline is M/M – involving the payment of a gambling debt by the brother offering himself to the repressed hero for a month of ‘whatever he wants’ (hint: lots of sex). But the sister and hero’s family members are also quite to the fore. Heartfelt and highly entertaining.
My Anne Mallory obsession has been somewhat dented by For the Earl’s Pleasure. Two words: ghost sex. I kid you not. Utterly ridiculous but I stuck with it because I couldn’t believe the woman who wrote two of my most recent favourites (Three Nights of Sin and Seven Secrets of Seduction) could come up with this unbelievable tosh and it must have a redeeming factor. Reader, it did not. To be avoided.
However, not to be deterred (and because I bought a whole load of her books second hand), I have just read What Isabella Desires and my faith is somewhat restored. Even though it’s from 2004, it hasn’t dated badly and features her trademark slow burn and likeable M/F pairing.
Book five of Kathleen Ayers’ Beautiful Barringtons series, A Recipe for a Rogue, has arrived on my Kindle in the last couple of days, so that’s my next read. Books one to four were very enjoyable.
Looking forward to reading all your recs. Amazon account warming up for a buying spree…
I’ve been in a major romance slump all summer, even though I’ve been reading them constantly for multiple summer reading programs and romance challenges…most likely the demisexuality is hitting harder than usual, I’m forcing things, or maybe it’s just all the bad news and mental exhaustion. HOWEVER, I have two nonfic recs I just love! The first is SEX AND THE SINGLE WOMAN, edited by Eliza Smith and Haley Swanson. Please don’t let the subtitle “24 Writers Reimagine Helen Gurley Brown’s Classic” put you off…”Sex and the Single Girl” is very much only a jumping-off point (and acknowledged as problematic throughout). There’s great representation across the board (the experience of an asexual writer is the only thing glaringly missing here–it would have been great and fit in beautifully), and the essays are so thoughtful and honest. My favorite book of the summer so far is MUSE by Ruth Millington, which reexamines the artist/muse relationship using historical and contemporary examples (in many gender/relationship permutations). It’s the best art history book I’ve read since college, and made me reconsider all sorts of beliefs I thought I knew. (Plus, even though the examples aren’t all romantic or sexual by a long shot, a couple of stories are pretty damn inspirational on that front–I wanted to BE Sylvia Sleigh by the time I was done reading.) It’s very brisk and nonjargony; about the only thing I would have wanted is more plates of artwork (I’m guessing it’s a budgetary thing).
I’ve been so cranky and mad at the world of late that I have absolutely no patience for books that annoy me in any way. So I’ve started and discarded far more than I usually do. The eclectic mish-mash that worked: A CARIBBEAN HEIRESS IN PARIS by Adriana Herrera (a delightful account of young woman defying the restrictions of her age as she finds love), Kristan Higgins’ latest: OUT OF THE CLEAR BLUE SKY (full-tilt women’s fiction, but better than I expected), the first two J.D. Robb books (because why rush into things, right?), and right now I’m enjoying THE CHARM OFFENSIVE by Alison Cochrun, a sensitive and humorous m/m romance based on a fictional Bachelor-type reality show.
@Anne I saw ”ghost sex” and immediately went looking for the book because it takes all kinds. (But have you read Simon Feximal yet?) Alas my library records show I have already read, and not especially enjoyed, the book in question.
:::waves along to the Jaws theme:::
I was at the Georgia Aquarium today, and there were sharks.
Anyhoo, between rounds of Assassin’s Creed (I am so stuck in one area and cannot figure out how to get out, but fine, it’s fine), I started The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by C.S. Harris, which was very much the fun and clever criming for fun and profit romp that I needed in my life. I liked the fairly straightforward prickliness of Marian and the sheer sunshine of Rob. He really was very sunny and happy for someone that has often taken the role of “if they can’t do the bad thing to save us, I can”. Also, kittens and angry ugly cats. Just so fun. Then I read Shadows Reel by C.J. Box. I could have taken or left the subplot about Nate Romanowski and his birds, but the main through plot about the murders and the mysterious Nazi photo album that was dropped in a library dropbox was pretty interesting. I like Joe and Marybeth Pickett, care about Nate considerably less. I also like the setting, which is probably a side of effect of watching Yellowstone and 1883. I will take all of your westerns right now. Currently, I’m doing something I never do, which is read 2 books at once. The only way I ever do that is to read a nonfiction and a fiction so that I don’t get plotlines tangled. The nonfiction is Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Keefe. It’s highly interesting so far, and my God that family is responsible for SO MUCH DAMAGE HOLY MOLY. The fiction is Reunion by Christopher Farnsworth, which I found about from Robin Bradford on Twitter (following a collection management librarian on the Twitterz, 10/10, would get book ideas again). It involves the a core group of superhero types (a magician, a boy genius inventor, a warrior princess, and a girl detective) who are called back to their hometown for 20th high school reunion because all the Weird Shit that they had to deal with back then has reared its ugly fanged face again. You’ve got the group dynamics, the fraught relationships based in both deep love and deep trauma, and again Weird Shit is happening. I’m not the most easily unnerved reader out there (a girl cut her horror teeth on King), but there was a scene at the beginning that gave me genuine heebie-jeebies. It’s hitting me in my “God I loved Stranger Things and Yellowjackets” place, and I’m really enjoying it. So until next time, may I just say that watching moon jellies? So soothing.
Lot of books in progress, but not too many finished to report. Here are the ones I have completed since last time.
Excellent:
None
Very Good:
White Hot and Wildfire by Ilona Andrews: Books 2 and 3 in the Hidden Legacy urban romantic fantasy series, these were re-reads. I am reading the series with my sister-in-law. I liked them, but didn’t love them quite as much as the first time I read them. It is obvious why the hero loves the heroine – she is a badass with integrity, loyalty, intelligence, and courage. It is less obvious why the heroine falls in love with the hero (especially because she has so many doubts at the beginning).
It Had to Be You by Delynn Royer: I think I might have gotten the recommendation for this one from a Rec League on romances with strong mystery elements or mysteries with very strong romances. Set in the 1920’s New York City, the heroine is an heiress, but has struck out on her own as an aspiring newspaper reporter. The hero is a honest cop out of favor with much of the rest of his department. A notorious gangster is found murdered and an orphaned homeless kid the only witness. The hero and heroine unite to protect the child and solve the case. Aside from an overuse of period slang, this was a charming story and a decent mystery. CW for child in peril.
Good:
None
Meh:
Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews: this novella is supposed to end the story arc of Nevada and Rogan from the first 3 Hidden Legacy books and start Catalina’s arc. Most of the story was a dud – I didn’t care at all about Rogan’s half-cousins or their drama and I wasn’t too into the wedding planning storyline. BUT I did appreciate learning more about Catalina and setting up her character.
The Bad:
None
Reading-wise things have been fairly good. I read a great book, a couple of really good books, DNFed a book and am now bouncing between 3 books.
The great was The Queer Principles of Kit Web (Cat Sabastian). I’m not sure that plot always made much sense, but I didn’t really care because I loved characters and thought that the development of the romance was beautifully done. I thought the choice that Sabastian made to deliberately underplay the scenes with the villain and barely describe him was brilliant. There is no chance of any reader sympathy or attention being focussed on him. What’s important is the other characters and their reactions to him and his actions. Narratively the villain is rewarded with the exact amount of empathy and interest he gave to the other characters – which was none. Nice trick of eating the rich villain, by making him virtually invisible on the page.
Siege and Storm (Leigh Bardugo): This is the second book in Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone fantasy trilogy. The heroine, Alina Starkov, fled her homeland, Ravka, with her friend/potential boyfriend Mal at the end of the first book, in an attempt to escape the Darkling, a second potential boyfriend/super-powerful corrupt magic user. The Darkling is of course determined to recapture Alina and combine her magic with his so that he can take over Ravka. This book is a there and back again story with Alina acquiring a second magical amplifier and a new ally/third potential boyfriend during her travels before she returns to Ravka. I enjoyed the story but thought the relationship between Alina and Mal was seriously underdeveloped and tepid (too much telling us that Mal was Alina’s true love, not enough showing). I also found it weird that everyone insisted (over and over again) that Mal was not a grisha (magic worker) – the guy can track any kind of animal, including legendary magical animals that no one else (including the grishas) can find, and yet he’s just some ordinary dude with no magic? I’m not buying it and I suspect that the final book in this trilogy will reveal that he’s not so ordinary. This is a book/series where the villain is given outsized attention (he’s by far the most interesting character), so not surprising that many readers in their reviews read his behaviour as “tortured and darkly romantic” even though he has abused the heroine, threatened, maimed, and killed bunches of people in order to gain and keep power.
The Unmatchmakers (Jackie Lau): I don’t know how Jackie Lau manages to write so quickly, yet turn out so many consistently good books. This one was about a summer vacation romance between 2 childhood friends: romantic, outgoing Leora and steady, introverted Neil. The twist is that, unlike in most of Lau’s books, the 2 Chinese-Canadian mothers (who are the very best of friends) do not want their children involve with each other and so they keep trying to “unmatch” them. The reasons for not wanting their children together are bit hand-wavey, but I didn’t care because the characters are all great and the book was just a perfect beach read (even if I was not near a beach). As usual with Lau lots of food – though this time it was more Ontario cottage country-inspired rather than trendy Toronto eats. So lots of s’mores, perfectly grilled steaks, and lots and lots of Tim Horton’s timbits.
I don’t read as many mysteries/suspense thrillers as I use to. But last year I read The Other Black Girl (Zakiya Dalila Harris) and really found the way it uses satire to critique racism, white fragility, and the toil that living in a racist society takes on black women sharp and thought provoking. So when someone mentioned to me recently that they thought Like a Sister (Kellye Garrett) was similar, I borrowed the book from the library. However I found the opening chapters of Like a Sister for whatever reason just weren’t holding my interest – so I ended up returning the book early.
Currently I’m bouncing between Weather Girl (Rachel Lynn Solomon), The Raven and the Reindeer (T. Kingfisher), and The Dating Playbook (Farrah Rochon). They are all decent, but none so far has been so compelling that I’m willing to drop the other two to finish it first.